[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Die, I'm pretty sure you got some things mixed up here, but considering the thread this is in, I guess we can brush it off by saying that this, too, is all Decade's fault.

I once typoed Mio as Maya in the Kiva thread, but eventually I noticed and edited it. Somewhere around Episode 39, I think?

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

(I also fundamentally like the order they chose here: Kuuga followed by Kiva. It makes sense to both of them early for different reasons, and in Kiva's case, there's the benefit of them still having whole sets lying around to add authenticity.)

Agreed. Starting from the beginning then moving to something more contemporary. Those worlds also introduce two of the main characters with Yuusuke followed by Kivaala.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I recall being endeared to Newsuke quite a bit thanks to this story. Running around helping some kid just because is so fundamentally Kuuga it's probably the thing that made me forget he started out as kind of a jerk.

I know right! It's crazy how people can watch this arc with Yuusuke being a great friend to Wataru and they still think he's not fit to wear that suit. This arc, even more than the Kuuga arc, is exactly why he's a Kuuga in his own right, just a little rough around the edges but I think that makes his dynamic with Tsukasa and the others more interesting. He may not be the Secondary Rider and seldom henshins but he's got that very complimentary personality similar to Takumi and Kiba.

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Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Also Tsukasa can play the violin! Is there anything he can't do? He speaks and understands Grongi, plays Violin, feels like a real winner to me.

He can do whatever the world he's passing through needs him to do.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

There's also this tiny bit of comedy beforehand that I wasn't expecting. Just as Decade is about to open up Kiva's back, Kiva turns around to see what he's doing back there. There's a beat as Decade looks at Kiva, like he's been caught, and then Decade slaps Kiva's shoulder and says "Eyes front." It's this minor but crucial acknowledgement that Final Form Ride is so weird and gross.

I love the characters' awareness of that. It turns what would otherwise be a very disturbing merchandise thing (well actually it is either way) in to a fortnightly joke to see how the Rider reacts in confusion and horror to being temporarily mutilated. The way Decade totally understates it by saying, "this will tickle a little", that's very in-character for him as well. He just wants to keep them calm so he can get it over with as quickly as possible.

Now time for some of my own thoughts about the World of Kiva and what better place to start than the surprise return of the man we all love (to hate), Kusaka! There's something familiar about stadium where Decade fights Kaixa, do you all remember? That's the same place where Kaixa first used his Kaixa Pointer to perform the Golden Smash on the Rabbit Orphenoch! I think the choice to use this set has to be deliberate as a reference to that fight. It's almost a shame that Die didn't start this thread 3 weeks later, cause then we'd be discussing this on Kaixa Day!

The premise of this arc also shows how imaginative these worlds can get. The World of Kuuga wasn't too different to the original. But in the World of Kiva, there's a law that enforces equal rights between humans and Fangires and anybody who breaks that law is therefore evil. That's totally the opposite of how it was in the show. Wataru's patrilineal and matrilineal lines are also reversed, with his father being the Fangire King and his mother being a dead human.

Kiva is 7/19 in my Heisei Rider Ranking and all my relevant opinions are now documented in that thread. So how does the World of Kiva compare? Well, I think [insert surname] Wataru (the wiki was no help here) is a sympathetic character, of course nowhere as memorable or present as Yuusuke. Nevertheless, he lived by his belief in the benevolent law and never succumbed to his Fangire instincts, so I think Kurenai Wataru would be proud of that.

The return of Spider Fangire was nice as well, maybe he's not such a creep in this world. Unfortunately, the Wolfen, Merfolk and Franken races are extinct here since Wataru's father just committed a triple genocide, so that sucks. Other than that, it seems like a pretty good place to live. Kivat has a little sister who may or may not be exclusive to this world and I think she's a very adorable addition to Team Decade! After all my praise about Yuusuke, my only complaint about him is that he's not generous enough to indulge her a little blood sometimes. Is his heart so cold?